Our troop has a crew going in 2010 and we are increasing the number of fundraisers for all the boys in the troop, not just specifically the boys going to Philmont.

We're trying to avoid the "selling something" fundraisers because of the general state of the economy and everyone is tired of the pizza/subs/wraping paper/etc fundraisers for cheerleading/PTA/etc/etc. Seems someone always has their hand out.

So far we've done a car wash, which did better than I thought it would. We have a couple of local resturants where you can get a portion of the evening revenue. We've done one where we got 10% of the bill (pre-tax) of anyone eating there and presenting a flyer provided by the troop. Another local resturant will give you a cut of all meals served, even if the patrons aren't there for your cause. The boys would be required to greet patrons and open the doors but that's all that's required.

We're planning a spagetti dinner in the spring. Other troops in the area do very well with these.

Aslo, find someone (parent, committee member) not involved in the trip to be dedicated to fundraising. They can spend more time finding/developing opportunites and not be distracted by getting the boys ready for Philmont.

Don't underestimate popcorn. My son has raised almost $1k from popcorn over the last 3 years just with the goal of paying for Philmont. Doesnt' cover the complete $1600 cost, but it helps. From day one, on joining the troop we try to instill upon them that they can afford the high adventure trips if they plan ahead and save. It's a great teaching tool when it works!

Besides fundraising, look for ways to save the boys money on their gear. You might find a local outfitter willing give you a bigger than normal scout discount if you purchase a lot of equipment through them. Look for on-line sales, etc.

Overall 70% of the sales comes back to the local program. Scouts get 32% of what they sell. If I remember correctly the troop gets 5%, and the balance of the 70% goes to the council/district. The troop gets a "bonus" payment if the boys sell a certain amount above what they sold the previous year.

It's pretty easy to sell $200-300 worth of popcorn with very little effort to family & friends. With some effort and a liitle hustle, they can sell $1000. For my son, that's about 50-60 sales. After that it get's difficult, though we have one boy in the troop who sold $5k last year when he was still in Cub Scouts. We're really hoping he sells that much again this year!

Standard unit profit for popcorn is 32%, but can be 35% if certain conditions are met (or an additional 4% if you forgo Trails End prizes). In Cub Scouts, our unit split that profit with the Cub 50/50 and the Pack paid for nearly all expenses except special trips or extra t-shirts. I think in our troop, the boys get it all but we have monthly and yearly dues.

I know the topic is a few months old, but hopefully you get an email, etc.

We have had a very successful time raking leaves this past fall. We put ads in a few local papers that go out to residents free and local "magazines" (free what's happening type of mag's). The boys did a lot of work raking leaves, shoveling dirt, etc. to earn their donations. People gave a lot more then I would really expect to. People would come up to us and ask what we were doing. After we told them, they would want us to come do their yard. We have had success with car washes in the past, did a few towards the end of fall, and will resume in the spring.

We are putting out letters to local organizations to see what we can do for them. The boys have really come together and demonstrated leadership, teamwork, and more doing this work.